Tuesday, June 05, 2012

I've been a blogger longer than I've held any other job except sheep farmer, though I tend to think of farming as more of a whole lifestyle than a job. But I suppose being a food and farm blogger is a lifestyle too. I was a farmgirl for 10 years before I started blogging, but it's hard to remember a time when I wasn't farming and blogging (and carrying my camera everywhere).

A lot has changed around here during the past seven years, and yet many things have stayed the same. I still have sheep. I still have dogs and cats and chickens. I now have seven donkeys instead of just the one (much to his delight). We've said goodbye to many beloved animal friends and welcomed new ones into the farmily.** We (finally!) live in a new house. I have a wonderful hunky farmguy I love even more than I did seven years ago.

I now have friends around the world. During the past month, you've come to my little blog from 146 different countries. How cool is that? (Hello, Zambia!)

If you'd like to go back to the beginning, there are links to all the Farmgirl Fare archives over in the left sidebar of any Farmgirl Fare page (just scroll down a little ways).

I'm grateful to you for choosing to spend time here, and for all of your comments and feedback and kind words. I know some of you have been around since the beginning!

I'm grateful to the sponsors who choose to advertise with me, and to my publishing network, BlogHer.

I'm grateful to all of you who take the time to start your amazon.com shopping trips by clicking on a Farmgirl Fare amazon.com link first (like to a book or product I've recommended), including that little black amazon logo that's always over in the right sidebar of every Farmgirl Fare page. When you do, we receive a small percentage of the sale (at no cost to you) no matter what you end up buying.

Every little bit helps, and your support really makes a difference. It allows me to spend 30 to 40 hours a week blogging. It allows me to spend more time taking pictures, telling stories, creating recipes, and meeting and inspiring people around the world. It allows me to work at something I love doing.

It also helps keep the farm going.

I have no idea what I'll be doing seven years from now. On Thursday morning (at 4:30am! by myself!) I'll be heading off to a two-day workshop that may take our struggling farm in an interesting (and potentially profitable) new direction. Exciting times surely lay ahead.

I do know that right now I'm here—and I'm so glad you are too.

Thank you. For everything.

**I proofread this post several times before noticing I'd typed farmily instead of family. I love it.

35 comments:

Congratulations on seven years! I haven't been around from the beginning - I've been reading you for about five years now - but you've given me many hours of enjoyment over the years. Thank you so much!

Congratulations on seven years. I discovered you three years ago while looking for a blueberry bran muffin recipe. I am very glad that I did. I really enjoy reading about your farm and animals and all of your great photos. Good luck on the new venture.

Congratulations, Susan! I've been visiting you since just after the beginning and I have to say that this beautiful blog has seen me through some amazing milestones in my life and inspired me to start my humble little blog. There are quite a few moments I remember visiting with you, the donkeys, sheep, etc, and I was sustained over some very rough spots. Also, my family all love this place, too, so we are often found talking about the photos and posts of the day. I admit, we are all very partial to DDD!Thank you for your wonderfully gentle way with words, your keen eye for photography, and your delicious recipes.

Farmily is such a wonderful word! I hope you will use it again and often! I came here many years ago to see the donkeys and have never left. Congratulations for seven years of blogging and looking forward to your future posts!

I just love your blog, your pictures and your yummy recipes (especially those great chocolate chip cookies!). It seems that my little town is no longer little (we have TWO Walmarts - ugh!!) and I so miss the more quite and gentle times when it was more farm/ranch land in this area - so I truly enjoy reading your blog and seeing your wonderful, wonderful pictures! I hope you continue to blog and share your days with us in blogland. PS I love the link to Amazon and in fact, just bought a couple of books from them this past week through your link. I just don't go to Amazon unless I follow your blog link and I love knowing that it helps out a bit.

Like DollZ, I came to see the donkeys and never left and now feel like part of the farmily. I subscribe to many blogs - yours is my hands-down favorite. Congratulations on your 7 year milestone and I can't wait to read about this new direction you mentioned above.

Congratulations and thank you too! Excited to hear about your new adventure with the farm. We certainly do live in an amazing time. Just harvested our first garlic scapes and am excited to add them to shrimp tonight and maybe make pesto. Another of life's surprises for which I have YOU to thank! Safe travels to you.

Well Susan, you KNOW you are part of my farmily alright! You were right beside me when the man I'm gonna marry was (unbeknownst to me) making his subtle overtures. :-)

I found you through a BBC radio show about food blogging wherein someone else's blog was mentioned and through a few links, I found yours. I'm afraid I don't remember the blog they referred to - I found yours and was hooked. Cary, heart shaped rocks, memum-memum pie, the little lady at the auction, the llamas, the ratty halter, the laundry line, pesto/pizza pie, the cute little cowboy, Hunky Farm Guy (of course!) the tragedies, the joys, and of course a whole bunch of stuff you don't publish. I can't imagine not having you around as a dear friend and a great writer.

Pins and needles, pins and needles!!! Can't wait to hear what's up next for you!

I, too, have no recollection of how/when I found you but also now check for you every day! Every.day. I'm a rock girl. And a dog girl. And a baking girl. And a gardening girl. And and and.....a donkey girl at heart! Who knew?!? And the chickens.....and your beautiful scenery.....it all combines to make a heart happy! It just does!!! And I think of you every time I traverse my 350' driveway, wondering what it would be like to go for the mail down YOUR 'driveway'...um, lane?!?

It's good. IT'S ALL GOOD! We thank you many times over for the belly laughs that occur because of the antics of your animals! Life needs less stress and WE THANK YOU for giving us these wonderful moments! Chris in Indiana

I am fairly new to your blog. My daughter sent me here after looking for a lamb recipe. I can relate to so many of your stories. I have always wanted to live on a farm and after 53 years my dream came true. I have 60 sheep (not counting lambs) and three horses right now. Of course, dogs and cats too. It has been ten years and, yes, there has been a huge learning curve. My husband and I both have jobs to support the farm. Luckily mine is part time. And like your recent post, I have to worry about injury/illness. There is no time to be sick on a farm. I hope to enjoy your blog in the future years.

WOW Congrats - 7 is a great number! Your stories and pictures feed the soul especially for those of us still in city mode and dreaming of green pastures full of funny donkeys and beagle berts. Best wishes for your farm and fgf's continued success! Meredith - from Argentina ;o)

Congratulations on 7 wonderful years! (Certainly wonderful for all of us, your readers). And best of luck re the workshop-sometimes life takes you places you didn't know you were going, and maybe finding that heartshaped rock a few days ago and going to this workshop may be a little sign.....

Just one more thing re clicking Amazon-we throw all our spare change into a coffee can when our purse (me) or our pocket (my husband) gets too heavy, and then when it gets full, we take them to a Coinstar kiosk and trade them for no commission for an amazon credit, which we use to buy USED BOOKS from Amazon sellers (I think it is a crime to throw away a book and an honor to read one others have read). I'm going to try using Farmgirls little Amazon entryway to see if I can get her a credit on these purchases-then it gets really good-recycling annoying change for something we use, not giving CS a commission, helping indie bookstores in an era of electronic books, and giving FGirl a commish!!!!!!!!

I've purchased almost everything you've recommended and the items are always high quality and wonderful. Thank you for teaching me how to ensure you are acknowledged to some degree. Your blog transports me to a different rich life and I have learned a great deal from you. Thank you for all that you do.

Congrats on 7 years! I wish I had found you back then instead of just a month ago. Now I've got a lot of catch-up reading to do, along with all those recipes to try, and all those photos to look at. I grew up in Springfield with roots in southern Howell County, and your photos of the land around your farm are a connection to the Ozarks, a part of the country my heart still calls home. Thanks so much for sharing your farm with us through your blogs. I can't wait (well, I guess I'll have to wait) to see what comes out of the workshop you went to. Whatever you do, I wish you the best!

Another gorgeous post, FarmGirl. Thank you SO much for this blog. Since 2006, your words and photos have made me laugh/cry, cheered me up, and given me great advice about my animals and plants. Oh, and the recipes are amazing, too. I've made Hearty Lentil-Sausage Stew dozens of times, and it never gets old.

Indeed, it's hard to know what the future will bring. But I hope I'll be reading Farmgirl Fare for years to come. Thank you for all the hard work you put into the farm, and your blog.

Congratulations! I wish I had found you years ago---I am addicted! Why do I go back and re-read about the week Robin died with you in the hospital!? I cry EVERY time---she was beautiful---and seeing her smiley photos make me smile---just like Bert, and the donkeys, and the sheep and the...Ok. It's now Sunday and we are dying to know what the two day conference was about? Growing medicinal herbs?? Something like that? Hopefully not more mouths to feed! I look forward to hearing all about it.

Congrats on your seven year milestone! I've been reading your blog for several years and enjoy hearing about your farm and your farmily. My husband and I have a small farm in the Arkansas Ozarks and we are praying for rain, too. We used to grow lavender, but the ice storm in 2009 killed all five acres of our plants. So we have been trying to decide what direction we want to take the farm now. I will be interested in hearing about the workshop you went to and what you learned.

Hi Susan ~ I followed your link from a comment that you left on my daughter's blog and what a sweet surprise. I love your blog, your photos, and your writing style. And I SUPER love your heart shaped rock! I have a collection of them myself - all found by my sweet hubby when he's on camping/hunting trips. When I saw the rock I just had to leave a comment so you would know I had been here and that I thoroughly enjoyed myself. :o)

Happy Seventh Anniversary; your blog is one of my top ten: great photos, the gloriously beautiful animals and how well you all take care of them, the dogs and their working lives, the colors which explode from your skies, the love that exudes for your husband, your dedication to the land... I wish for you another seven years of fun, work, success and great donkey photos.

December 2015 update: Hi! For some reason I can't figure out, Blogger hasn't been letting me leave comments on my own blog (!) for the last several months, so I've been unable to respond to your comments and questions. My apologies for any inconvenience! You're always welcome to email me: farmgirlfare AT gmail DOT com.

Hi! Thanks for visiting Farmgirl Fare and taking the time to write. While I'm not always able to reply to every comment, I receive and enjoy reading them all.

Your feedback is greatly appreciated, and I especially love hearing about your experiences with my recipes. Comments on older posts are always welcome!

Please note that I moderate comments, so if I'm away from the computer it may be a while before yours appears.

I try my best to answer all questions, though sometimes it takes me a few days. And sometimes, I'm sorry to say, they fall through the cracks, and for that I sincerely apologize.

I look forward to hearing from you and hope you enjoy your e-visits to our farm!